IBM Boosts Dow; Chip Stocks Drop

NEW YORK -- International Business Machines assisted the Dow Jones Industrial Average, while declines by a raft of semiconductor-related stocks, including Applied Materials and Microchip Technology, kept down the Nasdaq Composite Index.

The Dow industrials gained 25 points, or 0.24%, to 10238.22; the Nasdaq lost 9.41, or 0.48%, to 1936.92; and...